The Sports Xchange
Dec 16, 2017

LAS VEGAS – Brett Rypien passed for 362 yards and two touchdowns and wide receiver Cedrick Wilson caught 10 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown as 25th-ranked Boise State spoiled the Oregon head coaching debut of Mario Cristobal with a 38-28 victory in the 26th Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The Mountain West Conference champion Broncos (11-3) improved to 3-0 all-time against the Ducks (7-6), who turned the ball over four times while falling behind 24-0 in the first half. One of those turnovers was an interception that was returned 53 yards for a touchdown by safety Kekaula Kaniho.

Boise State finished with 473 total yards and 28 first downs. The Broncos defense held Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert (26 of 36, 233 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions) in check for most of the game.

Midway through the third quarter, the Ducks, who lost head coach Willie Taggart to Florida State two days after accepting the Las Vegas Bowl bid, had just 77 yards in total offense and as many turnovers (four) as first downs (four).

Boise State dominated the first half, rolling up a 294-77 edge in total yards and 17-4 advantage in first downs. But two turnovers in the final 37 seconds resulted in 14 points for Oregon.

The first came when Rypien fumbled and linebacker Troy Dye scooped the ball up and raced 86 yards untouched up the right sideline to make the score 24-7.

Rypien then connected Wilson with a 67-yard pass to the Oregon 6-yard line on the next offensive play from scrimmage and it appeared Boise State would at least notch a field goal before halftime. But Ducks safety Tyree Robinson then jumped a corner route for wide receiver A.J. Richardson in end zone and returned it a school-record 100-yards for a touchdown to cut Boise State's lead to 24-14.

The Broncos bounced back to start the second half with an impressive 75-yard, 12-play drive capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Rypien to tight end Alec Dhaenens. Oregon closed to within 31-21 on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to Brandon Schooler midway through the fourth quarter, but Boise State sealed the win with an 11-play, 86-yard drive capped by a 1-yard run by Ryan Wolpin.

NOTES: Oregon RB Royce Freeman, ranked the sixth best running back and 45th overall for the 2018 NFL Draft by NFLDraftscout.com, sat out the game despite taking part in some bowl practices and playing in the team's final two games of the season so as not to risk injury in the game. "This is hard for him now," Ducks coach Mario Cristobal told Oregonlive.com. "I mean, this is not easy for an easy thing for a guy like that that's invested his heart and soul into the program. We all know the story that goes with that. It's difficult for him." The 6-foot, 238-pound Freeman finishes his career as the Pac-12 Conference's all-time leading rusher with 5,621 yards, including 1,506 yards on 244 carries (6.0 avg.) and 16 TDs this season. ... Freeman's teammate, senior OT Tyrell Crosby who is ranked 65th by NFLDraftscout.com and considered a potential first-round pick, decided to play in the game and switched his uniform number from 73 to 58 to honor the 58 victims who were killed in the Oct. 1 mass shooting across the Strip from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Crosby played high school football at Green Valley High School in Henderson, about a 10-minute drive from Sam Boyd Stadium.